Pretending to Cultivate in Kindergarten-Chapter 358: Treasure

Early the next morning, Lin Zhengran and Jiang Xueli said goodbye to Lin Yingjun and Lin Xiaoli and headed off to check on the factory.

They found Uncle Jiang extremely busy, but his mindset was steady and positive. The procurement of new materials had already begun, and the factory was getting back on track at full speed.

Seeing everything running smoothly, Lin Zhengran was no longer worried. He and Lily headed back to the villa.

However, during the ride, Jiang Xueli noticed something strange.

In the backseat of the taxi, she accidentally caught sight of her reflection on her phone screen. She reached up and touched her face. “Hmm?”

She flipped the camera to selfie mode and leaned in to take a closer look.

In selfie mode, flaws in human skin are especially obvious—especially up close.

But to her surprise, even though she and Zhengran had barely slept last night, staying up past 3 a.m., her skin didn’t show any signs of dryness or dark circles.

In fact, it looked better than last week! She looked prettier, more vibrant!

Her skin was tight, dewy, and perfectly smooth—no pimples or marks at all.

She practically glowed, like she had just come back from that hot spring trip.

Thinking deeper, she realized she felt great, too—no fatigue, no sleep-deprived grogginess.

Lowering her phone, she asked,

“Zhengran… did my skin just get better?”

Lin Zhengran, still gazing out the window, glanced over at her. Of course he knew why.

After last night’s activity, it was inevitable.

“Yeah, it did.”

“I knew it! But why…?” she muttered. “I was already curious after that hot spring trip, but since it didn’t happen again, I kind of forgot about it. But now it’s happened again…”

She furrowed her brows, mumbling to herself,

“If it wasn’t because of the hot spring, then what do the two times have in common?

Wenwen and He Qing kept saying it must’ve been the hot spring, but I always thought something didn’t add up…”

Zhengran couldn’t help but chuckle softly as he looked out the window.

Hearing him laugh, Lily turned toward him, annoyed.

“What are you laughing at?!”

Then she froze mid-sentence. Her face blanked as she seemed to realize something.

“Wait a second… why aren’t you surprised at all? It’s like you knew this would happen—from the hot spring, to this time, even the first time with Han…”

Lin Zhengran teased, “Didn’t I look surprised the first time?”

She responded in her cute voice, “You didn’t! At most you looked curious. He Qing and I were the ones freaking out! And wait—what do you mean ‘should have been surprised the first time’? That totally implies you already knew the reason, doesn’t it?! You do know something, don’t you?!”

Zhengran gave her a meaningful look.

Lily clicked her tongue and tugged at his arm.

“Tell me already! What’s going on?! What’s the reason?”

“Didn’t you basically figure it out just now?”

“Huh?”

“You just said the two times had something in common. Think about it—what could that be? And remember what He Qing and Wenwen might have done too.”

Lily frowned in concentration.

Something in common… skipped breakfast? Something happened? Went outside? Or…

Images from last night flashed in her mind. Her face slowly turned redder and redder, until it was as bright as a tomato.

She whispered, mouth trembling,

“Could it be… doing that?”

Zhengran shushed her gently—the driver might hear.

Lily’s face was practically steaming. She lowered her voice, flustered like she’d made a scientific breakthrough.

“W-Wait… seriously?! You mean… after doing that with you, our skin…?”

Zhengran gave her a semi-credible explanation.

“Well, I do study medicine. I’ve been maintaining and regulating my own health. And when we’re intimate, there’s a bit of energy exchange. It helps you too.”

She blushed hard. “Is… is that for real?”

But then she suddenly caught a flaw in his story.

“Hold on! That doesn’t make sense! You said yourself—the first person you slept with was He Qing, right?!”

“Yeah.”

“But the first one whose skin improved was Han Wenwen! And she didn’t even sleep with you back then!”

Mid-sentence, she slapped her hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened as the realization hit.

Her brain was finally firing on all cylinders.

If being with Zhengran could boost a girl’s skin and health, then that meant it came from absorbing some kind of essence—

And that didn’t necessarily require full-on intimacy. There were other… methods.

Which meant… that fox girl… had been doing that for a long time already?

Lily glared at Zhengran, mortified. Then she shut her eyes tight and cursed under her breath:

“Stupid Zhengran! Stupid Fox!”

Even the driver got startled by her sudden outburst.

Sure enough, when they returned to the villa, the embarrassed and fuming Jiang Xueli immediately went to confront Han Wenwen.

“Fox! You already did that with Zhengran way back?! Even before the trip?!”

The clever little fox was cornered against the wall by Lily.

But as soon as she saw Lily’s glowing skin, she knew exactly what this was about. Smiling sweetly, she said,

“Lily finally figured it out, huh? I couldn’t help it—too tempting.”

“Tempting?! You can’t use that word for this kind of thing!!”

Jiang Jingshi and He Qing overheard the shouting, puzzled.

Jiang Jingshi asked, “Why is Lily so worked up? Everything okay with your family?”

Lily looked back shyly, “It’s fine now! All taken care of!”

He Qing asked, “Then what were you guys arguing about?”

Lily stammered. “Uh…” She leaned over to Wenwen and whispered,

“Stupid fox… should we tell them? Should we share the secret to glowing skin and energy boosts?”

Wenwen thought for a moment, then whispered in her ear,

“We could… but I think Brother Zhengran’s going to be in big trouble.”

Lily nodded. “Yeah, but they’ll find out sooner or later. It’s way too obvious. By the way, when did you figure it out?”

Wenwen looked a bit regretful. “I suspected during the trip. Later I confirmed it through ‘field testing.’ But knowing doesn’t make it easy. Since school started, Zhengran hasn’t really gotten close to me much—hardly any chances.”

“True… it’s hard to get an opportunity,” Lily muttered, side-eyeing her. “But I’ve noticed your skin’s been great lately.”

Wenwen covered her face and grinned. “Then let me ask you—whose skin hasn’t been great lately? I was the first to figure out this secret, so I can see who’s been sneaking a taste just by their skin. No use lying.”

Lily was instantly silenced.

She’s right. If doing that makes your skin glow, then every girl who secretly got intimate with Zhengran recently… Wenwen can spot it all.

And Lily… well, she had snuck a few times herself.

Wenwen added with a smirk, “But none of them had as big a jump as you did last night. You must’ve gotten real cozy with Brother Zhengran, huh?”

Lily blushed furiously. “Th-That…”

“How many times?” Wenwen asked, half-jealous, half-curious.

“Who asks stuff like that?! I’m not telling you!” Lily clutched her ears.

Jiang Jingshi and He Qing looked at the two whispering and acting all flustered, completely confused.

Jiang Jingshi asked, “What are you two even talking about?”

Wenwen nudged Lily, and the two exchanged glances.

Then Wenwen said, “Xiaoqing, Jingshi—we’re about to tell you a secret.”

And so, they each leaned in and whispered the truth into the other girls’ ears.

The moment they heard it, both He Qing and Jiang Jingshi blushed bright red.

In perfect sync, they exclaimed:

“For real?!”

Lily stammered, “I’ve tested it myself—it’s true. Just think about it, and you’ll realize it too.” freewёbnoνel-com

He Qing covered her face, utterly embarrassed, curling up on the sofa.

Jiang Jingshi touched her own cheeks, her soft expression glowing pink.

“No wonder my skin’s been so nice lately… I was wondering what the reason was…”

Just then, Lin Zhengran stepped out of the bathroom—only to find all four girls staring straight at him.

One by one, their gazes turned hungry, as if they’d just discovered some priceless treasure.

“…Why are you all looking at me like that?” Lin Zhengran asked.

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